Latest news with #AnticoCaffeGreco
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
I stayed in one of Rome's most crowded tourist spots
The Spanish Steps is one of the busiest corners of one of the busiest tourist cities in one of the world's most-visited nations. All day and evening tourists surge aimlessly up and down, as if wondering what they're supposed to do. Some sit exhausted on the steps to eat sandwiches, but will be moved on if police happen by. Others snap selfies using long sticks. Yet others in improbable fashions strike poses for social-media posts. Like everyone, there are times when I bemoan overtourism, but sometimes I just have to embrace it, and where better than on these whimsical steps, fronted by a baroque fountain and topped by a 16th-century twin-towered church? All these surging visitors are harmless enough. They're out in the sun, freed from routine and work, and excited about being in Italy. They chatter and hold hands and kiss and pose. Surely this celebration of life shouldn't be bemoaned. If you want a light-hearted, lively and lovely corner of Rome to stay in, the Spanish Steps beckon. You're right in the capital's most elegant shopping district, centred on Via dei Condotti, though if you're a fashionista you shouldn't miss Via Borgognona and Via Frattina, either. You can walk to the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona and (if you're a hearty walker at least) 2.2 kilometres to the Colosseum too. More esoteric sights are nearby, such as the Keats-Shelley house, the great sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini's house, and Rome's oldest coffeehouse, Antico Caffe Greco. And even here, in this busy Roman district, you can escape into the vast green space of the nearby Villa Borghese gardens, and find one of Europe's best art museums, Galleria Borghese, particularly unmissable if you're a fan of Caravaggio. In the evenings, I walk down the busy streets towards Piazza del Popolo, with its twin churches and obelisk. Crowds surge with me, but so what? I can stickybeak on the world and every nation's tourist habits.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
I stayed in one of the most overcrowded tourist spots
The Spanish Steps is one of the busiest corners of one of the busiest tourist cities in one of the world's most-visited nations. All day and evening tourists surge aimlessly up and down, as if wondering what they're supposed to do. Some sit exhausted on the steps to eat sandwiches, but will be moved on if police happen by. Others snap selfies using long sticks. Yet others in improbable fashions strike poses for social-media posts. Like everyone, there are times when I bemoan overtourism, but sometimes I just have to embrace it, and where better than on these whimsical steps, fronted by a baroque fountain and topped by a 16th-century twin-towered church? All these surging visitors are harmless enough. They're out in the sun, freed from routine and work, and excited about being in Italy. They chatter and hold hands and kiss and pose. Surely this celebration of life shouldn't be bemoaned. If you want a light-hearted, lively and lovely corner of Rome to stay in, the Spanish Steps beckon. You're right in the capital's most elegant shopping district, centred on Via dei Condotti, though if you're a fashionista you shouldn't miss Via Borgognona and Via Frattina, either. You can walk to the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona and (if you're a hearty walker at least) 2.2 kilometres to the Colosseum too. More esoteric sights are nearby, such as the Keats-Shelley house, the great sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini's house, and Rome's oldest coffeehouse, Antico Caffe Greco. And even here, in this busy Roman district, you can escape into the vast green space of the nearby Villa Borghese gardens, and find one of Europe's best art museums, Galleria Borghese, particularly unmissable if you're a fan of Caravaggio. In the evenings, I walk down the busy streets towards Piazza del Popolo, with its twin churches and obelisk. Crowds surge with me, but so what? I can stickybeak on the world and every nation's tourist habits.
The Age
5 days ago
- The Age
I stayed in one of the most overcrowded tourist spots
The Spanish Steps is one of the busiest corners of one of the busiest tourist cities in one of the world's most-visited nations. All day and evening tourists surge aimlessly up and down, as if wondering what they're supposed to do. Some sit exhausted on the steps to eat sandwiches, but will be moved on if police happen by. Others snap selfies using long sticks. Yet others in improbable fashions strike poses for social-media posts. Like everyone, there are times when I bemoan overtourism, but sometimes I just have to embrace it, and where better than on these whimsical steps, fronted by a baroque fountain and topped by a 16th-century twin-towered church? All these surging visitors are harmless enough. They're out in the sun, freed from routine and work, and excited about being in Italy. They chatter and hold hands and kiss and pose. Surely this celebration of life shouldn't be bemoaned. If you want a light-hearted, lively and lovely corner of Rome to stay in, the Spanish Steps beckon. You're right in the capital's most elegant shopping district, centred on Via dei Condotti, though if you're a fashionista you shouldn't miss Via Borgognona and Via Frattina, either. You can walk to the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona and (if you're a hearty walker at least) 2.2 kilometres to the Colosseum too. More esoteric sights are nearby, such as the Keats-Shelley house, the great sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini's house, and Rome's oldest coffeehouse, Antico Caffe Greco. And even here, in this busy Roman district, you can escape into the vast green space of the nearby Villa Borghese gardens, and find one of Europe's best art museums, Galleria Borghese, particularly unmissable if you're a fan of Caravaggio. In the evenings, I walk down the busy streets towards Piazza del Popolo, with its twin churches and obelisk. Crowds surge with me, but so what? I can stickybeak on the world and every nation's tourist habits.
Telegraph
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Rome's oldest cafe saved from closure
The Italian government has swooped in to save Rome's oldest cafe – once a haunt of the poets Lord Byron and John Keats – from imminent closure. The Antico Caffe Greco opened near the Spanish Steps in the heart of the Italian capital in 1760. Artists, intellectuals and writers including Mark Twain and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe gathered there to share their ideas and it was a must-see on the Grand Tour for privileged Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries. But the historic building – now a tourist attraction flanked by designer stores – has been fighting for its survival in recent years as the building's owner, the Israelite Hospital, wants to redevelop it. A high court decision approving the cafe's closure appeared to seal its fate, but the ministry of culture intervened at the eleventh hour on Thursday, declaring the cafe's walls to be of 'cultural interest' and saying both the furniture and furnishings were 'immovable'. Alessandro Giuli, the culture minister, told The Telegraph on Friday the cafe is a 'historic jewel' and his ministry would act as 'a moderator' to seek a solution between the parties to guarantee its survival. 'The importance of Cafe Greco cannot be ignored,' he said. The lease expired in September 2017, when the cafe's management said the owners wanted to raise the rent to match those being paid by the surrounding luxury stores in Rome's premier shopping street. Lawyers for the Israelite Hospital were unavailable for comment on Friday but Italian media reports said it claimed to be losing a million euros a year because the rent was below market rate. The cafe has weathered 250 years of turbulent history including war, political upheaval and cultural renaissance. Casanova, the notorious Venetian playboy, once visited, as did the legendary American showman William Frederick Cody, better known as 'Buffalo Bill', who sipped a coffee there with a posse of cowboys in 1890. Famous for its plush 'red room', the cafe boasts 300 works of art, as well as marble tables, velvet chairs, art deco lamps and gilt mirrors. The Italian capital's tourism site describes it as 'an emblem of international Rome' and a place where 'the most brilliant minds have found inspiration'.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rome's oldest cafe saved from closure
The Italian government has swooped in to save Rome's oldest cafe – once a haunt of the poets Lord Byron and John Keats – from imminent closure. The Antico Caffe Greco opened near the Spanish Steps in the heart of the Italian capital in 1760. Artists, intellectuals and writers including Mark Twain and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe gathered there to share their ideas and it was a must-see on the Grand Tour for privileged Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries. But the historic building – now a tourist attraction flanked by designer stores – has been fighting for its survival in recent years as the building's owner, the Israelite Hospital, wants to redevelop it. A high court decision approving the cafe's closure appeared to seal its fate, but the ministry of culture intervened at the eleventh hour on Thursday, declaring the cafe's walls to be of 'cultural interest' and saying both the furniture and furnishings were 'immovable'. Alessandro Giuli, the culture minister, told The Telegraph on Friday the cafe is a 'historic jewel' and his ministry would act as 'a moderator' to seek a solution between the parties to guarantee its survival. 'The importance of Cafe Greco cannot be ignored,' he said. The lease expired in September 2017, when the cafe's management said the owners wanted to raise the rent to match those being paid by the surrounding luxury stores in Rome's premier shopping street. Lawyers for the Israelite Hospital were unavailable for comment on Friday but Italian media reports said it claimed to be losing a million euros a year because the rent was below market rate. The cafe has weathered 250 years of turbulent history including war, political upheaval and cultural renaissance. Casanova, the notorious Venetian playboy, once visited, as did the legendary American showman William Frederick Cody, better known as 'Buffalo Bill', who sipped a coffee there with a posse of cowboys in 1890. Famous for its plush 'red room', the cafe boasts 300 works of art, as well as marble tables, velvet chairs, art deco lamps and gilt mirrors. The Italian capital's tourism site describes it as 'an emblem of international Rome' and a place where 'the most brilliant minds have found inspiration'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
